Henry Jefferson’s office in its original home on Lowther Street offers a compelling insight into this entrepreneurial family. Practically unchanged in over 200 years, step inside this Dickensian office and be whisked back to an age of industry, right in the heart of Georgian Whitehaven.
Peer at the family portraits adorning the walls and marvel at the sturdy desk housing surviving R&H Jefferson documents and ledgers. Imagine a hardworking clerk risking a quick break before getting back to business. After all, the Jeffersons ran a busy empire and tea breaks were few and far between.
The office might look familiar to film buffs. In 2006, it was used in the filming of the Hollywood production ‘Miss Potter’, starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor. Film scouts considered the Jefferson Office the perfect fit for Beatrix Potter’s solicitor husband’s workplace.
Who was Henry Jefferson?
Henry’s father, Henry Jefferson (1750-1827), founded the family wine and spirits merchants in the 18th century. Master of the vessel Gale, which was built in Whitehaven, he successfully traded with Virginia and the West Indies. Upon marrying Anne Tweedie, daughter of plantation owner, Robert Tweedie, in Antigua, he bore 4 children, one of whom was our Henry Jefferson (1800-1877).
Henry and his brother Robert took over the family business where it would remain, on Lowther Street, for over 200 years, importing rum from Robert Tweedie, sugar and molasses from the West Indies and wines from Spain and Portugal. Henry lived in Hensingham House in Whitehaven with his wife, Ann and 9 children. He died in 1877 after a varied career in imports, local affairs and politics.
